Machine for cleaning carcasses of hogs



Nov. 1, 1932. N.--E. WERNBERG 1,885,161

IVIACHIIJE FOR CLEANING CARCASSES OF HOGS Filed July 5, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet 1 lNY ENTOR NIELS ERIK ERNBEHG ATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1932. I N.E. WERNBERG MACHINE FOR CLEANING CARCASSES OF HOGS Filed July 3, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. N/ELS ERIK wsnwazms A TTORNEYS.

Nov. 1, 1932. N. E. WERNBERG 1,335,161

MACHINE FOR CLEANING CARCASSES OF HUGS F'iled July 3, 19:5 4 Shees-Sheet 4 r/a, '7- INVENTOR N/ELS f g/K WERNBERG ATTORNEY Patented Nov.1, 1932 NIELS ERIK wnnnnnne, or cornnn GEN," nnmannx v Y MACHINE oncnnamnc' caaoassns or HOGS Application filed July 3, 1930. Serial at.465,618.

This invention relates to an improved cleaning machine for useinslaughter houses for the removal of bristles, hoofs and toe nails fromhog carcasses, and especially to a 5 machine for simultaneouslyoperating upon a plurality of carcasses.

The particular ob ect of'the invention is, to provide a machine for thepurpose named that will excel in thespeed and efficiency of to its workand be more simple and economical in construction and operation thanprevious machines of this class have been; the particulars wherein andwhereby said objects are attained will be duly set forth.

The construction of my improved'bristle removing machine isclearlyillustrated in the accompanying drawings, the various fig ures ofwhich are as follows:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the left hand end i of the machine. p

Fig. 2 is anelevation of the entry ceiving side of the machine. I

Fig.- 3 is a transversesection through the machine, said section beingtaken anywhere or reintermediate the ends'of the scraper cyl-I inders.

Fig. 4: is an outer face view of one of the scraper units which may beemployed on any of the cylindersof my machine, .but in the drawings itis shown as being attached to the member that is termed the beater orreleasing cylinder.

Fig. 5 is a central, longitudinal" section of the Fig. 4 form of scraperbit which'is termed thefish-tail or double-point bit.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged face view of the end of said double point bit.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged face view of the point of a singlepoint scraperbit.

The power or driving member of the machine is located at the right-handend of Fig. 2 and nearly all of the transmissive elements are located atthe left-hand end of the machine.

comprises a housing or casing 1 of oblong, rectangular cross section,within'which are mounted two revoluble, longitudinally-ex.- tending,parallel cylinders 2 and'3 bearing metallic scraper bits 4; cylinder 2is termed Above the The construction shown in said drawings.

ther'eceiving cylinder becau'se itis mounted adjaoent'the carcassreceiving side of the housing; cylinder 3is termedthe discharge cylindersince, itis mounted adjacentthe carcass discharging side of the housing.Said cylinders .2 and 3 are approximately of the same diameter and arearranged "in such proximity to each other as .to fully supportthecarcass intervention of any intermediate supporting structure. i V V1 discharge cylinder 3, somewhat outwardly therefrom andextendingparallel therewith and longitudinally of the housing isrevoluhly mounted acarcass retaining and releasing cylinder 5, ofopen'or skeleton" formation which performs three functions, namely, theperiodical retention ofthe ar-g cass in bristle removing relation tocylinders 2 and 3, it also during said periodco-acts with said cylindersin removing the bristles also the hoofs and toenails from the feet oftherarcass and at the end of said cleaning period swings inwardly andupwardly over and out of contact with the carcass thus releasing it forejection or discharge out of the housing and onto the receiving table 6.i

A suitable vertically-swinging"cradle '1 whereby carcasses arelifted'from alsc'ald' ing'tank'8 and delivered onto the receiving l wcylinder'2, is provided, and has its upper end rigidly mounted uponahorizontallyextending, rotating shaft 9, the ends of which arer'otatively mounted in bearings 10, which are securedto and carried bythe end walls of the housing 1.

Power and tained in a casing 14, the driving shaft of which is shown at15; this shaft 15 extends.

longitudinally through the housing 1 and the cylinder 3 is mounted uponand driven thereby. As shown in' Fig. 1, upon the left end of said'shaft15, is rigidly mounted and secured a sprocket16, from which power isres, PATENT "or-Pics beingoperated upon without the) transmissiongearing are proj vided-'wl1ereb sa d cylinders and cradle are,

transmitted to a larger sprocket 17 which is secured to and drives shaft18 of the cylinder 2; shaft 18 is also supplied with a pinion 19 whichmeshes with and drives a gear 20;

upon the shaft 20 is mounted a pinion 21 which meshes with and drives agear 22, the shaft of which is shown at 23; upon said shaft 23 is keyeda cam 24, the function of which will presently appear.

Adjacent the top of the delivery side of the housing is mounted alongitudinally-e2:- tending shaft 25 which projects from said housing ateach side thereof, and upon each of said projecting ends is rotativelymounted the upper eye or hub of a double-ended link 26; the lower eye orhub of each of said links carries the respective ends of the shaft 27 ofthe releasing cylinder 5.

Two sprockets 28 and 29 are mounted upon ,1 the projecting left hand endof said shaft 25;

said sprockets 28 and 29 are preferably a unitary structure and arerevolubly mounted upon said shaft 25; sprockets 28 and 29 are driven bya chain indicated by the broken line 30 which passes around sprocket 31that is keyed to said main driving shaft 15.

The left-hand end of the releasing cylinder shaft 27 is provided with arigidly affiXed sprocket 32 to which motion is transmitted from sprocket29. It can now be readily seen that, by means of the links 26, thebeater cylinder is adapted to swing to its inward, upper,carcass-releasing position along the are 33; this swinging and releasingmovement is positively imparted to said beater cylinder by the followingmeans. Shaft 23, which is driven by gear 22, extends longitudinally ofand each end thereof projects through its respective end ofthe housing1;

' upon each of said projecting ends is mounted a cam 24; a transmissionlever 35 is provided which is adapted to employ and is mounted uponshaft 15 as a fulcrum, and its lower end is provided with a roller 36which contacts with and constantly bears upon the actuating face of saidcam; the upwardly-extending end of said lever terminates in proximity tosaid link 26 and is connected thereto by means of a reach rod 34. Theweight of the beater cylinder carried by said shaft 27 causes it tooccupy its lowermost, carcass-retaining position, as shown in thedrawings, and at the same time to keep the roller 36 in contact with theface of cam 24, which contact imparts to said lever 35 a swingingmovement which, in turn, is imparted through said reach rod 34 to saidheater cylinder to pcriodically impart to it co-operative function ofassisting in cleaning the carcass or carcasses, as the case may be, andthereafter to permit their release from the machine. For the purpose ofimparting the swinging movement to said cradle, one end of a crank lever37 is rigidly secured to the left-hand end of the cradle shaft 9; to theother end of said In Fig. 3 of the drawings cylinder 5 is shown in theextreme outward and lower limit of its arcuate line of travel and t 1edotted adjacent circle indicates the extreme inward and upward limit ofsaid arcuate line of travel. The shape of cam 24 clearly indicates thatcylinder 5 will dwell at the lowermost point of its travel.

In the use of this machine it has been found that two or morecomparatively small carcasses may be placed in the machine and cleanedat the same time, and that the rubbing of such plurality of carcassestogether, as they are turned by the bristle removing cylinders,materially assists in the cleaning of the carcasses, and greatlyincreases the output of the machine. When the machine is used for thecleaning of a plurality of carcasses, such plurality, whether two ormore, are picked up by the cradle and deposited into the machine at thesame time.

The respective movements of the cradle and the discharge cylinder aresuch that the carcasses are deposited into the housing and onto thereceiving cylinder at the instant wardly and downwardly, and because ofthis its bristle-removing action begins while the carcass is enteringthe machine and early in thereturn movement of said cylinder; thisaction materially shortens the bristle-removing interval especiallybecause the transmission gearing of sa d beater cylinder is geared torevolve said cylinder very rapidly as will be noted from an inspectionof Fig. 1 where appear.

T he length and consequently greater flexibility of the beater arms ofsaid cylinder 5, together with their centrifugal action due to Said p yof revolution of their drum the releasing movement of the cylinder 5takes,

place the shaft 27 thereof moves upwardly through an arc ofapproximately degrees in extent, which are it retraverses in moving lback to its position of cooperative action with the other two cylinders;this trend of movement is important in three respects, namely, that inits upward movement it exerts its bristle removing action upon theoutgoing wnen said beater cylinder is moving rearthe relative diametersof sprockets 31 and 32 carcass from aconstantly changing position untilit reaches the. uppermost carcass releas ing' point throughout itsreturn travel to. its

lowermost point, itsscraper bits are also acting upon theenteringc'arcass from a changing. po nt'of attack; this causes a. moreuniversal prolonged and complete act-101i upon the car-.

cass than would be obtained if the shaftzof said cylinder 5 did notswing and act in the precise manner stated; it also insures a morecertain and efiicient action of the deuble-point andsingle-pointscraper-bits in removing the toenails from the feet of thecarcass. The

shape of the cam 24'is such. that the beater cylinder dwells somewhat.atits lowermost position as previously stated; also the shape of thepoint of said cam and'the approaches thereto are such as to cause saidcylinder to quickly reverseits direction of travel at its highest pointof travel...

The form of scraper bits shown on sheet lv of the drawings, andespecially thecombination and arrangement of same shown in Figs. 4 and 5constitute a novel and valuable de tail of my invention especially forthe follow.

ing reasons:

The double-pointed, bifurcate, or fish-tail form of bit 39 issnfliciently wide at its point that when the proper number of them aresecured to a cylinder, a continuous line or scraping edges. extendentirely across and longitudinally of .the cylinder, and furthermore,the central notch 40 1n said fish-tail bit is 7 especially effective inremoving the hoofs and toenails from the carcass; the single point bit,ll-Fig. 7, being located back of and in circumferential alignment withsaid notch, complementary in action to said double po nts 39, andneutralizes or erases what would or might be an uncleaned streak uponthe carcass which might possibly be caused by said notch. I

The single point form of bit,-a face view of which is shown in Fig. 7and an edge view is shown in Fig.3, upon the cylinders 2 and: 3,-isfully described in a coependingapplica tion for a patent forimprovements in machines for removing bristles from hog carcasses, filedat even date herewith, .7 These two forms of bits as employed oncylinder 5 are combined into scraper unit I which is clearly illustratedin Figs. 4: and 5 wherein they are shown as being rigidly sc cured atand ad3acent to the outer free end of a flexible tongue 42, which iscomposed of a closely woven rubber-impregnated, or otherwisewaterproofed fabric; the inner end of said tongue 42 is firmly secured,as by means of bolts 43 to the radially disposed flanges ie of thecollar 45 which is rigidly affixed to and driven by said shaft 27. Theends of hot of said bits adjacent their scraping edges arecurvedoutwardly away from the carrying tongue 42.-

As clearly indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, thefiexibletongues42 ofthe beater ele ments with which cylinder 5 is equipped are attached attheir inner' ends very close to the shaft 27, which carries thisorganization, and extend radially outwardly therefrom, are of suflicientlength so that, in their unflexed nor-' mal, radia'l reachand' limit'ofoperation, a

circle circumscribed about them at said limit would be of somewhatgreater-diameterthan a circle -circumscribed about either of the.

drums 2' or 3v at the maximum limit of travel of theirrespectivescraperbits 4; but, owing to thelength and degree offlex'ibility of saidtongues 42, such. a considerable degree of flexure 'thereof may takeplace as would cause the limit'of operation of their bits39 and 41to'take place at a muchshorter radial distance from the center ofcylinder 5 than the length of'the radius of said circumscribedcircle ofthe drums 2 or 3.

n This feature adds materiallyto the, adaptfirst carcass scraping drumrevolubly mounted adjacent said receiving side of said housing and-inreceiving relation to the delivery. point of said dellvery means, asecond carcass-scraping and ejecting drum having a diametersubstantially the same as the diameter of said first drum mounted insaid housing adjacent the delivery side thereof lower down than and inco-operative bristle-removing relation to-said first,drum,said twopdrumsbeing adapted to fully support the carcass thereon, a thirdswingingly-mounted drum normally positioned above and outwardly towardthe delivery side of said housing from said second drum-also in.(lo-operative coincld'ent, bristle-removing relation tosaid first andsecond drums and furthermore, in retaining'rel'ation to the carcassbeing cleaned,

means for mounting said third drum consisting of a link at each endofsaid drum in whlch the pro ect1ng ends of its shaft arerespectively.carried, said linksbeing posi tioned exteriorly ofsaidhousing,whereby it is adapted tohave an arcuate, inward, upwardswing whereby ltassumes a carcass releasing position and continues itscleaningaction upon the outgoing carcass during its travel tosaidreleasing position, also exerts its cleaning action upon theincoming carcase while traveling back to its normal position, and powergenerating and transmission 'means whereby said carcass delivery meansand said drums are caused to respectively operate and to swlng 1n themanner stated.

2. A machine for cleaningcarcasses of hogs comprising in combination, asuitable housing through which the carcasses are passed to be cleaned,means for delivering a carcass into the carcass-receiving side of saidhousing, a first carcass-receiving bristle-removing drum revolublymounted in carcassreceiving proximity to the delivery point of saiddelivery means, a second bristle-removing drum of substantially the samediameter as said first drum revolubly mounted adjacent to the carcassejecting or delivery side of said housing in co -operative bristleremoving proximity to and lower down than said first drum, acarcass-cleaning, retaining and releasing open work cylinder ofsubstantially the same diameter as that of said drums and havingsubstantially long, flexible beater arms with metallic bits on the outerends thereof revolubly and swingingly mounted in said housing so as toswing inwardly therein in an upwardly extending arcuate line of travelthroughout the greater portion of which said releasing drum continuesits cleaning action upon the outgoing carcass, said cylinder beingpositioned normally above and outwardly from said second drum, also insuch proximity to said other two drums as to co-operatively andco-extensively exert therewith a cleaning action upon the carcassesbeing cleaned and furthermore, for a predetermined period of time toretain said carcass in its bristle removing relation to said drums andat the expiration of said period, by execution of said upward swingingmovement, to travel over and release said carcass whereby said carcassbecomes free so as to be ejected from the delivery side of said housingby the action of said second drum whereafter and during its returntravel said cylinder begins its cleaning action upon the incomingcarcass, and power generating and transmission means whereby saiddelivery means and said drums and cylinder are caused to operate asstated.

3. A machine for cleaning carcasses of hogs comprising in combination, asuitable housing, means for delivering a carcass into said housing atthe receiving side thereof, three carcass-cleaning drums revolublymounted in said housing with their axes in parallel relation; the firstof said drums mounted adjacent to the carcass-receiv ng side of saidhousing in carcass-receiving proximity to the delivery point of saiddelivery means, a second drum of substantially the same diameter as saidfirst drum positioned lower than and toward the delivery side of saidhousing from said second drum, said first and second drums being adaptedto jointly and fully support a carcass in the dehairing position, thethird unit of said drums being swingingly mounted and normallypositioned above and outwardly toward the delivery side of said housingfrom said second drum elongated, flexible tongues for said third drumhaving their inner ends attached adjacent the shaft thereof and providedupon their outer free ends with terminal metallic scraper bits which areadapted through said flexibility to have a radial reach of efiectual,bristle-removing operation that is substantially the same as or lessthan the radial reach of said first and second drums, all of said drumsbeing normally in respect to position and direction of revolution toco-operate throughout the interval of removal of bristles from thecarcass being operated upon, the travel of said third drum during itsswinging movement being in an upwardly-curving, arcuate path toward thereceiving side of the housing out of contact with the carcass beingcleaned whereby said carcass becomes free to be and is ejected from thehousing by the action of said second drum, and power and transmissionmeans whereby said delivery and cleaning means are caused to operate asset forth.

at. A machine for cleaning hog carcasses comprising in combination asuitable housing through which the carcass is passed for cleaning, meansfor delivering carcasses into the carcass-receiving side of saidhousing, a first carcass scraping drum revolubly mounted adjacent saidreceiving side of said housing and. in receiving relation to thedelivery point of said delivery means, a second carcass-scraping andejecting drum of substantially the same diameter as that of the firstdrum mounted in said housing adjacent the delivery side thereof lowerdown than and in co-operative bristle-removing relation to said firstdrum, said two drums being arranged to fully support the carcasstherebetween, a swingingly-mounted rotary scraping member having aneffective radial reach substantially the same as that of said drums andnormally positioned above and outwardly toward the delivery side of saidhousing from said second drum and also in co-operative, bristle-removingrelation to said first and second drums and furthermore in retainingrelation to the carcass being cleaned, means for mounting said rotaryscraping member for movement in an arouate, inward, upward swing wherebyit as sumes a carcass releasing position, power generating andtransmission means whereby said carcass delivery means and said drumsare caused and co-ordinated to operate in the manner and sequencestated.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

NIELS ERIK VVERNBERG.

